The ciliate community of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario was assessed over a six year period from 2003 – 2008. One eutrophic site in the upper bay (Belleville) and one more oligotrophic site in the lower bay (Conway), were included in the survey. Both sites contained a mixture of Haptoria, Strobilidium, Halteria, Strombidium, and Vorticella, although the relative proportions varied among sites resulting in different community structures. Ciliate biomass was found to be significantly higher at Belleville (mean: 100.2 ± 14.1 mg m –3 ) compared to Conway (mean: 37.1 ± 3.5 mg m –3 ), but could be explained by sudden pulses of Haptoria, primarily species of Mesodinium, which peaked as high as 678.1 mg m –3 . Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed a clustering of Halteria, Strobilidium, Tintinnina, Urotricha and Vorticella with surface temperature along with autotrophic picoplankton as a potential prey item. The results suggest that autotrophic picoplankton may be an important food resource for the ciliate community and that there is a strong seasonal gradient to community structure. Future research should be directed at understanding how ciliates influence the transfer of both primary and secondary production to higher trophic levels.

中文翻译：

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安大略湖昆特富营养湾纤毛虫生态：群落结构和觅食特征†

安大略湖昆特湾的纤毛虫群落在 2003 年至 2008 年的六年期间进行了评估。上湾（Belleville）的一个富营养点和下湾（康威）的一个贫营养点被列入民意调查。两个站点都包含 Haptoria、Strobilidium、Halteria、Strombidium 和 Vorticella 的混合物，尽管站点之间的相对比例不同，导致了不同的群落结构。与康威（平均：37.1 ± 3.5 mg m –3 ）相比，贝尔维尔的纤毛虫生物量显着更高（平均：100.2 ± 14.1 mg m –3 ），但可以用 Haptoria 的突然脉冲来解释，主要是 Mesodinium 物种，峰值高达 678.1 mg m –3 。规范对应分析显示 Halteria、Strobilidium、Tintinnina、具有表面温度的 Urotricha 和 Vorticella 以及作为潜在猎物的自养微型浮游生物。结果表明，自养微型浮游生物可能是纤毛虫群落的重要食物资源，并且群落结构存在强烈的季节性梯度。未来的研究应着眼于了解纤毛虫如何影响初级和次级生产向更高营养水平的转移。